Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

During its 46th Plenary Session (14-18 October 2019), the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) adopted its four-year Programme of Work (MYPoW 2020-2023), which includes a request to the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (CFS-HLPE) to produce a report on “Data collection and analysis tools” for food security and nutrition, to be presented at the 50th Plenary session of the CFS in October 2022 (to access the MYPoW, please click here).

The report, which will provide recommendations to the CFS workstream “Data collection and analysis tools”, will:

• Identify the barriers impeding quality data collection, analysis, and use in decision-making;
• Identify specific high priority gaps in data production and analysis not covered by ongoing initiatives;
• Highlight the benefits of using data and the opportunity costs of not using data for decisions;
• Illustrate initiatives that have encouraged evidence-based decisions in agriculture and food security across the public, private, and academic sectors as well as approaches that have not worked;
• Provide insights into how to ensure data collection and its utilization give voice to the people most affected by policies stemming from that data, including farmers and other food producers.

To implement this CFS request, the HLPE is launching an open e-consultation to seek views and comments on the V0 draft of the report. 

The report will be presented at CFS 50th Plenary session in October 2022. As part of the process of elaboration of its reports, the HLPE is organizing a consultation to seek inputs, suggestions, and comments on the present preliminary V0 draft (more details on the different steps of the process, are available here). The results of this consultation will be used by the HLPE to further elaborate the report, which will then be submitted to external expert review, before finalization and approval by the HLPE Steering Committee.

HLPE V0-drafts of reports are deliberately presented early enough in the process - as a work-in-progress, with their range of imperfections – to allow sufficient time to properly consider the feedbacks received in the elaboration of the report. E-consultations are a key part of the inclusive and knowledge-based dialogue between the HLPE Steering Committee and the knowledge community at large.

How can you contribute to the development of the report?

This V0 draft identifies areas for recommendations and contributions on which the HLPE would welcome suggestions or proposals. The HLPE would welcome contributions in particular addressing the following questions, including with reference to context-specific issues:

1. The V0-draft introduces a conceptual framework that orders the components of the food security and nutrition ecosystem based on their proximity to people’s immediate decision making sphere, from the macro to the individual levels, and describes a four-stage data-driven decision making cycle for food security and nutrition (FSN), from priority setting to data utilization. Use of the two is illustrated through a matrix template that facilitates the concurrent operationalization of the conceptual framework and data driven decision-making cycle to address issues relevant for FSN.

1. Do you find the proposed framework an effective conceptual device to highlight and discuss the key issues affecting data collection and analysis for FSN?
2. Do you think that this conceptual framework can indeed contribute to providing practical guidance for data collection for FSN?
3. Do you think that this four-stage data driven decision making cycle for FSN addresses the key steps in the data collection and analysis process for FSN? Where do you see the more relevant bottlenecks in the data driven decision making cycle for FSN?
4. Can you offer suggestions for examples that would be useful to illustrate in a matrix template that facilitates the operationalization of the conceptual framework and data driving decision-making cycle to address issues relevant for FSN?

2. The report adopts the broader definition of food security, proposed by HLPE in 2020, which includes the two dimensions of agency and sustainability, alongside the traditional four of availability, access, utilization and stability.

1. Does the V0-draft cover sufficiently the implications of broadening the definition of food security for data collection, analysis and use?
2. What type of data will be most useful in measuring food security dimensions such as “agency” and “sustainability”?

3. The V0-draft reviews existing FSN data collection and analysis tools, initiatives and trends.

1. Do you think that the review adequately covers the existing ones? If not, what would you add?
2. Do you think that the trends identified are indeed the key ones in affecting data generation, analysis and use for FSN? If not, which other trends should be taken into account?
3. In particular, can you offer feedback on how digital technology, internet of things, artificial intelligence, big data, and agriculture 4.0 affect FSN? What is their likely impact in the coming decades?

4. The report discusses capacity constraints at local, national and global levels, with a special focus on statistical and analytical capacity.

1. Do you think that the V0-draft covers all the issues – and their consequences - of capacity constraints at the different levels?
2. If your answer a. was “no”, then what additional issues regarding capacity constraints should be added to the analysis?

5. The V0-draft discusses the role of new and emerging technologies in data collection and analysis tools for FSN.

1. Do you think that the presentation of new and emerging technologies captures the main trends? What other new and emerging technologies could be discussed in the report?
2. In what other ways can new and emerging technologies be relevant to each of the stages/aspects of the FSN data value chain/data lifecycle (i.e., Define evidence priorities and questions; Review, consolidate, collect, curate and analyze data; Translate and disseminate results and conclusions; Engage and use results and conclusions to make decisions)?
3. In what other ways can new and emerging technologies be relevant to each of the FSN dimensions (i.e., Availability; Access; Utilization; Stability; Agency; Sustainability)?
4. What are some of the issues with respect to ethical use of data, access, agency and ownership linked to these new and emerging technologies that should be further discussed in the report?

6. The report reviews issues concerning institutions and governance for data collection, analysis and use, with a focus on data governance principles, data protection, transparency and governance of official statistics, the implications for governance of an increasingly digitalized world, and examples of initiatives addressing governance challenges.

1. Are there any issues concerning governance of data for FSN that have not been sufficiently covered in the draft report?
2. What are some of the risks inherent in data-driven technologies for FSN? How can these risks be mitigated? What are some of the issues related to data privacy, access and control that should be carefully considered?
3. What are the minimum requirements of an efficient FSN data system and how should these be prioritized?
4. Which mechanism or organization should ensure good governance of data and information systems for FSN? How to regulate and mitigate potential conflicts between public and private ownership of data?
5. What are the financing needs and the financial mechanisms and tools that should be established to allow all countries to collect, analyse and use FSN data?

7. Drawing on HLPE reports and analysis in the wider literature, in the next draft the report will outline examples of potential policy pathways to address challenges to data collection and analysis tools for FSN.

1. What data do the global community and international organizations need in order to gain an appropriate insight into the current state of world food security and to agree on and design international action to improve it?
2. What data do countries need for more effective decision-making for food security and nutrition and to inform policies for the transformation of food systems?
3. Please suggest references to cases that illustrate policies and initiatives aimed at:
   • improving equity in access to data for FSN policies and decisions, including at grassroot and local levels;
   • enhancing capacities with respect to data generation, access, analysis and use by different actors;
   • specifically harnessing of traditional and indigenous/first nations knowledge.

4. Please provide references and examples of success: good data leading to good policies (context-specific), or any lessons to be learned from a failed data collection/utilization attempt.
5. Please also suggest any initiative and good practice aimed at addressing:
   • the specific constraints of generating a minimum set of indicators in conflict and disaster- affected areas;
   • capacity gaps of local institutions, farmers’, producers’ and workers’ organizations in generating, sharing and analysing good quality data, as well as in using data to inform decision-making in food systems;
   • capacity gaps at country level to generate and use data in policy-making processes, monitoring and reporting related to SDG2; including with respect to financial resources, human resources, data management, legislation and the enabling environment and FSN governance.

6. Please also provide any additional references with respect to:
   • minimum data requirements (baseline) for FSN at country level;
   • qualitative data;
   • data representing traditional knowledge.

8. Please provide your feedback on the following:

1. Are there any major omissions or gaps in the V0-draft?    
2. Are topics under- or over-represented in relation to their importance?    
3. Are there any redundant facts or statements that could be eliminated from the V0-draft?
4. Are any facts or conclusions refuted, questionable or assertions with no evidence-base?

We thank in advance all the contributors for reading, commenting and providing inputs on this V0 draft of the report. We look forward to a rich and fruitful consultation!

The HLPE Steering Committee